In the present study a newly developed feedback form for college course evaluation (Feedback Form for the Excellence Courses: FFEC) is tested on a sample of participants of the courses of Psychology of Excellence in Business and Education (N = 200). FFEC addressed both issues of learning outcomes of a course and instructional qualities of teachers consisted of 5 dimensions: animating knowledge, promoting self-regulated learning, stimulating intellectual atmosphere, structuring the class, and establishing communication with students. Aside from its prospective practical purposes, FFEC showed very good psychometric properties, with regard to the internal consistency of subscales and overall factorial validity. As to concurrent construct validity, multiple regression analysis showed that subscales of FFEC accounted for 46% of variance in the overall course rating. Finally, the suggestions for the future use of FFEC are discussed.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction
Rationale for the study
Chapter 2 Theory
2.1 Review of the literature
The scholarship of learning
The scholarship of teaching and learning
Formative student evaluations
Summative student evaluations
Analysing feedback
2.2 Theories and questions guiding thesis
Nine steps of instruction
Learning outcomes
Instructional materials
A rational for nonstandardized instruments in course assessment
Conducting course assessment with informally developed instruments
Hypotheses
Chapter 3 Methods
Participants
Materials
Statistics procedures and design
Chapter 4 Results
Factor analysis
Comparison of the courses
Regression
Chapter 5 Discussion and conclusion
Implication for theory
Implication for practice
Limitations
Future directions
Study Objectives and Core Themes
The primary objective of this study is to assess the quality of Psychology of Excellence in Business and Education courses by developing and testing a new, reliable, and valid feedback instrument for students, while exploring the relationship between various instructional factors and learning outcomes.
- Development of a new college course evaluation instrument (FFEC)
- Application of Gagne's "Nine Steps of Instruction" to evaluate teaching quality
- Investigation of the influence of instructional factors on course ratings and learning outcomes
- Analysis of the relationship between student emotional states (positive/negative affect) and course perceptions
- Identification of significant predictors of overall teaching effectiveness
Excerpt from the Book
1. Gain attention
Present a problem or a new situation. Use an "interest device" that grabs the learner's attention. This can be thought of as a "teaser" (the short segment shown in a television show right before the opening credits that is designed to keep you watching and listening). The ideal is to grab the learners' attention so that they will watch and listen, while you present the learning point. You can use such devices as: Storytelling, Demonstrations, Presenting a problem to be solved Doing something the wrong way (the instruction would then show how to do it the right way), Why it is important
Summary of Chapters
Chapter 1 Introduction: This chapter establishes the rationale for studying the quality of higher education courses and introduces the necessity of gathering student feedback for teaching improvement.
Chapter 2 Theory: This section reviews relevant literature on the scholarship of teaching and learning and outlines the theoretical framework based on Gagne’s nine steps of instruction.
Chapter 3 Methods: This chapter details the participant sample, the development of the nonstandardized evaluation instrument (FFEC), and the statistical procedures utilized for data analysis.
Chapter 4 Results: This chapter presents the statistical findings, including factor analysis of the new instrument, course comparisons, and regression analysis of predictors.
Chapter 5 Discussion and conclusion: This final chapter discusses the implications of the findings for educational theory and practice, acknowledges study limitations, and suggests future research directions.
Keywords
Course evaluation, instructor quality, learning outcomes, instructional materials, teaching effectiveness, Gagne's theory, student feedback, formative evaluation, summative evaluation, higher education, psychometric properties, factor analysis, student perception, academic performance, pedagogical techniques.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this thesis?
The thesis focuses on assessing the quality of college courses in the "Psychology of Excellence in Business and Education" program by developing and validating a new feedback instrument called the Feedback Form for the Excellence Courses (FFEC).
What are the central themes discussed?
The research centers on effective teaching principles, the scholarship of teaching and learning, the design of course assessment instruments, and the impact of instructional quality on student learning outcomes.
What is the primary research goal?
The primary goal is to create a valid and reliable feedback form that allows instructors to gain helpful insights into student perceptions, thereby improving overall course design and teaching effectiveness.
Which scientific methods were employed?
The study utilized both descriptive and inferential statistics. This included confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to test the instrument's structure, along with multiple regression analysis to identify significant predictors of student course ratings.
What does the main body of the work cover?
The main body covers the theoretical foundation based on Gagne’s nine steps of instruction, the methodological approach to instrument construction and pilot testing, and a detailed results section analyzing student feedback data across ten different courses.
Which keywords characterize this work?
Key terms include course evaluation, instructor quality, learning outcomes, teaching effectiveness, Gagne's theory, and psychometric validation.
How does the FFEC instrument differentiate itself from standard evaluations?
Unlike global, generic forms, the FFEC is designed to address specific dimensions of teaching quality—such as animating knowledge and promoting self-regulated learning—providing more granular feedback for pedagogical refinement.
What role does the P.A.N.A.S. schedule play in the study?
The P.A.N.A.S. (Positive Affect-Negative Affect Schedule) was used to measure students' emotional dispositions to determine whether their mood states correlate with their perceptions of learning outcomes and instructor quality.
What was a key finding regarding course workload and difficulty?
The research identified that students' perceptions of course difficulty and workload are significantly related to their overall satisfaction, with findings suggesting that courses perceived as having "adequate" difficulty are generally preferred by students.
What is the author's primary conclusion for instructors?
The author concludes that instructors should view course evaluation as an ongoing, iterative process and that focusing on specific instructional behaviors—like structuring the class and animating knowledge—directly contributes to improved student outcomes and course ratings.
- Citar trabajo
- Giap Binh Nga (Autor), 2006, Psychology of Excellence in Business and Education, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/232578
